Football is the most popular sport in the world and certainly the easiest game to set up. It doesn’t need any special infrastructure – you could hardly say you need the ball itself! How many times hasn’t a game started on the street or in an alley with a pinecone or a sandwich foil turned into a ball? The fun is a given: kick, run, pass, pretend, score! Was it really a goal? Did it hit on the imaginary goal line, roughly defined by two stones? And that’s where the players’ endless negotiations begin and the game goes on.
UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, the largest football federation in Europe, is a non-profit organization. Perhaps many people do not know that, in addition to organizing major football events, it channels a large percentage of its revenue into actions that support the organization’s values for football: respect, inclusion, integrity, fairness, justice and dignity.
One such event representative of UEFA’s work is the “UEFA Grassroots week”, which takes place every September and this year was held from 23 to 30 September throughout Greece. In free translation it means “Football for All Week” or “Development Football Week”. This means that the beloved sport is made accessible to all people regardless of age, ability, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation or any other factor.
The Municipality of Prespa, as part of the “UEFA grassroots week 2024”, hosted a sports event for boys and girls with disabilities at the Patoulideio Sports Centre on Saturday 28th September. The activities included a developmental football tournament and training by qualified coaches with a focus on developing psycho-spiritual and technical skills, socialization and fun for children, coaches and parents.
The participants were divided into teams and played football under the guidance of specialised coaches.
The event was organized by UEFA, HFF (Hellenic Football Federation) and the UFC (Union of Football Clubs) of Florina, in cooperation with the Regional Unit of Florina, the Municipality of Prespa, the Center of Creative Activities for children “Access” for the disabled and the Center of Creative Activities for children for the disabled of the Municipality of Florina, while Centers from Epanomi of Thessaloniki and Serres were hosted.
Around 100 children enjoyed the activities and got souvenirs, which were presented to them by representatives of the HFF and the UFC, the Deputy Mayor of Florina and the Mayor of Prespa, Giorgos Stergiou, who emphasized in his greeting: “With the completion of the upgrading works, Patoulideio will become a meeting point for the young people and children of Prespa, but also for Academies, Clubs and Associations from all over Greece. We are creating a complex with modern sports facilities and equipment of high standards, changing rooms and toilets for the disabled and everything necessary for all citizens to have access“.
Souvenirs were given to all participants by the representatives of the local authorities.
The outdoor stadium of the sports centre was completed in the summer of 2024 and in September football training sessions for children and young people of Prespa started twice a week. After a hiatus of years, the sport was brought back to the children’s lives with the cooperation of the Parents & Guardians Association of students of Agios Germanos Nursery and Elementary School, PAS Prespa and the Municipality of Prespa.
We had admittedly missed it!
The football team of elementary school children (top) and high school children (bottom).
